


Etched

by hollyandvice (hiasobi_writes)



Series: Holly's Round Seven H/C Bingo Card [56]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Xenophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 02:29:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9153643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiasobi_writes/pseuds/hollyandvice
Summary: He's twelve years old when the name comes in on the back of his neck, the script wavering and damningly void of kanji.Yuuri spends years pretending the name on the back of his neck isn't there, so much so that when the person it belongs to comes crashing into his life, they almost miss each other. Almost.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'ed. Written for H/C Bingo Round 7.

It tingles more than it burns, but he still knows what it must be. When he runs to Mari-neechan to ask her to read it, she isn't able to hide the way she sucks in a sharp breath as soon as she sees the words.

"I can't read it, Yuuri."

"What do you mean? Are the kanji too hard?"

"No, I mean… I can't read it. It's not Japanese."

Yuuri's heart drops to his feet.

\----

He's twelve years old when the name comes in on the back of his neck, the script wavering and damningly void of kanji. Yuuri almost doesn't go to school that day, the look on his father's face enough to give him pause. But his mother kisses his cheek and sends him off with his bento, and he knows better than to argue with her.

The whispers follow him all day at school, and he hasn't wished that he was in the same grade as Yuuko this badly in ages. Still, he does his best to keep his head held high through the whole day, and races to meet Yuuko and Nishigori at the Ice Castle after school. Everything disappears when he's on the ice, and, for a few, lingering moments, he can pretend nothing went wrong today. That Mari-neechan hadn't sounded so sad, that his classmates hadn't whispered behind his back all day, that there's no way it's Yuuko's name on his neck. It's ached all day, but here, on the ice, that ache fades a little.

It comes back in full force the second he steps off the ice. On his way home, he stops by a little shop, eyeing the chokers they have on display. He grabs a plain one, pays for it with a small smile and a word of of thanks, and hurries home with his salvation. His parents don't ask, and neither does Mari-neechan, but he thinks that's because they already know.

But before he puts it on, he slips into the bathroom and grabs his mother's hand mirror, holding it in his hand for a moment before angling it to see the words on the back of his neck.

_Виктор Никифоров_

His heart skips a beat because that… doesn't look like Romaji. It could be--

But he cuts that thought short, almost dropping the hand mirror in his haste to remove the name from his sight. He fumbles the choker taking it out of the bag, but he gets his hands under control as he buckles it in place, cinching it tight. There's no way it's him. He banishes the thought, locking it away, refusing to touch it again, no matter what may happen. There's no way it's him.

Right?

\----

Yuuri doesn't think anything of it the night after the China Cup as he and Viktor get ready for bed, having long since repressed the memory of the quiet, desperate hope in his heart that it might be Viktor's name on his neck. Even after today, when that hope had stirred again, Viktor didn't ask. He has never asked about the choker, and Yuuri has never volunteered any information, just as neither of them has spoken of the wide white mark covering Viktor keeps in place over his collarbone.

That doesn't mean Yuuri doesn't hear the way Viktor sucks in a sharp breath when Yuuri thoughtlessly shoves his choker aside to rub at the sweat underneath it before he gets into the shower.

Yuuri turns to face Viktor, the wide-eyed, stunned look on Viktor's face enough to give him pause. "Viktor?" he asks curiously. "Is everything okay?"

Viktor just takes a few trembling, nervous steps toward him before gently turning Yuuri around, fingers feather-light on the back of Yuuri's neck as he undoes the choker. It takes Yuuri a moment to make the connection, and when he does, his whole body goes rigid.

Viktor's fingers draw back immediately, and Yuuri can almost hear the apology on his lips. "Is it--" he starts, but he can't quite seem to find it in himself to finish the question. But then he hears the sound of Viktor removing his mark covering, and the tension in his muscles ratchets up another notch, practiced disbelief warring with desperate hope in his chest. Yuuri licks his lips, not sure if he wants the sudden hope swelling in his chest proven right or dashed against the rocks of his years of certainty.

"Yuuri," Viktor says quietly, and months of practice has Yuuri turning to face his coach without a second thought, only for his eyes to land on the one thing he never thought he'd see on Viktor's skin.

_勝生勇利_

Yuuri's reaching out for the familiar kanji without thinking, his fingers stilling a breath away from Viktor's skin. He licks his lips again, his mind ticking over and over the same thought like a cooling motor, the realization that it is his own name inked into Viktor's skin too much to handle all at once.

Eventually, he finds the strength to look up at Viktor. "But… how? You must have… _how_?"

"When the triplets posted the video of you skating the "Stay With Me" routine…. A friend sent it to me, and I didn't think much of it at first, at least not until…" Viktor shakes his head, Yuuri's own disbelief mirrored in Viktor's eyes. "I thought it was just going to be one-way platonic. Professional. For as much as I…." English seems to be failing Viktor, and he stops to mutter to himself in Russian as he searches for the words. "I never thought it would be mutual."

Yuuri squeezes his eyes shut, hope slowly devouring the uncertainty in his chest. "Is that why you kissed me today?"

"No," Viktor says, and Yuuri's eyes fly open at the certainty in his voice. "It wasn't even in my mind. All I could think of is you. How you always manage to surprise me, how much I enjoy watching you skate, how much I--"

Yuuri doesn't let him finish, pressing in close to kiss the words from Viktor's lips.

When he draws back, Viktor searches his face, clearly trying to find the right words. "I would have loved you anyway," he whispers, and Yuuri closes his eyes, nodding once.

"And I you."

When Viktor kisses him this time, it is no surprise, already becoming easy and familiar in a way Yuuri never could have dreamed. It's everything he never thought he could have, and, somehow, it's like coming home.

It's perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> [Come hang with me on tumblr!](http://hollyandvice.tumblr.com/)


End file.
